Correlation of Telomere Length with Cognitive Function, Muscle Strength, and Quality of Life in Normal-Weight and Obese Female Participants

Research linking obesity to cellular aging-associated declines in cognitive, physical, and mental health is limited. This cross-sectional study compared relative blood leukocyte telomere length (RTL), cognition (Montreal Cognitive Assessment), fat-free mass, muscle strength, and health-related quality of life between 68 normal-weight and 66 obese Thai women, while exploring the associations between RTL and these outcomes. The results show that the obese group exhibited significantly shorter RTL, alongside lower body mass-normalized fat-free mass and body mass-normalized hand grip strength, higher absolute hand grip strength, and lower scores in specific physical health-related quality of life subdomains compared to the normal-weight group. The adjusted correlation revealed that RTL was positively related to social functioning in the normal-weight group. However, tests for group interaction showed no significant differences in RTL–outcome relationships between groups. Furthermore, there were no longer significant following false discovery rate correction across both groups. These findings suggest that while obesity is associated with shortened cellular aging markers, reduced muscle mass and strength, and diminished physical function, it does not significantly moderate the link between RTL and these health outcomes. Studies with larger sample sizes may be needed to detect potential subtle interaction effects.